


The Fish's Story

by AlexiaTheRook



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: 1930's Style Equestria, Gen, I'm Sorry The Ending Is A Bit Rushed, Murder Mystery, No Mane 6, Oneshot of a Scrapped Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 15:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10516737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaTheRook/pseuds/AlexiaTheRook
Summary: On the search for her kidnapped friend, Alex and Hera stumble into a town named Mewnton, a small fishing town outside of San Franciscolt inhabited by Deer and Cat hybrids.When they arrive they team up with the local police force to solve the murder of a local Fisher.But the catch?They only have 24 hours...This was supposed to be for Everfree NW Scribblefest, but I didn't finish it in time...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I know I haven't been writing as much as I should be, but I'll probably change that. Also, pretty soon I'll have illustrations for this story, so stay tuned for that. 
> 
> There also may be a bonus chapter... :)

San Franciscolt was a pretty big town, bustling with people all with places to be right away.

 

I’m not a fan of large cities for that exact reason, too many people on all sides...

 

Which is why I sighed in relief when the note said it was a small town in the very outskirts of San Franciscolt. A small fishing town called Mewnton. The town's  There weren’t a lot of them living there, only a town of about a hundred of them.

 

They fished and sold them in San Franciscolt, making them a small amount of profit. It was small enough that everyone knew each other pretty well, they were almost like a large family.

 

Which made it hard when someone died...

 

An old fisher had drowned, and since the town was so small, they relied on the police in the next town over, a town of Vixies. The Bat and Fox hybrids lived in a pretty large, yet peaceful town of about 10,000 of them. Since they didn't have a lot of action, their police force was more than willing to come to their aide.

 

The police was already checking the crime scene when we arrived, and immediately we got odd looks. I was traveling with Hera at the time, and it was about Noon when we arrived. After speaking with Police, we both sat down at a local place that sold fish and hay fries. We placed our order and began to discuss what the note could have meant when it led us here.

 

“The note mentioned this town, and it said something about the mouth of a fish. What do you think it means Alex?” Hera, a pale orange unicorn with fiery red hair, asked as I dug in my saddlebags, in search of the note.

 

“I have no clue…” I replied before snatching the note from the bag and placing it on the table.

 

_ In a town named Mewnton _

 

_ A fisher’s tale is coming to a close _

 

_ In the mouth of a fish is the key _

 

“We figured out who the fisher is… But fish? I have no clue…”

 

Hera trailed off as the Deerphinnian came back with their hay fries. I slipped the note back into my saddlebag as the food was set on the table, not daring to get grease on it and get it smudged. “Thank you.” Hera told the waitress as I began to gobble up the food.

 

“Oh my horse this is so good! I was so hungry!” I exclaimed between mouthfuls of food. Hera sighed and raised a hoof to her face. “Alex. You need to not talk while you’re eating. It’s impolite.” Hera said in annoyance. I swallowed my food, “Whoops, sorry. I forgot. I was so hungry…” I grinned before going back to eating.

 

After the two of us ate our fill of Hay Fries, we headed towards the docks to go speak with the Police.

* * *

 

Two Vixies were examining the crime scene when we arrived. One was a reddish tan color with  reddish brown bat wings, glittering green eyes, and large brown Batlike ears. The other was white with black paws, jet black bat wings, large batlike black ears, and steely gray eyes. They were talking to each other as we walked up, but had paused their conversation as we approached.

 

“The dock is off limits to civilians ma’am.” The red furred Vixie stated with a sense of authority. His voice laced with an accent that sounded like it was from Appleoosa.

 

“Sorry, but I’m not a civilian sir.” Hera stated as she pulled out her badge. “Lieutenant O’Neille of the Seadlle Police Force. I’m working on a missing person case and these reports are connected.” Hera replied, a smirk on her face as the red furred Vixie got flustered.

 

“I’m sorry Lieutenant O’Neille, my partner and I didn’t know this.” The white furred Vixie said with a cool voice, much different from her partner’s accent. “I’m Detective Koralla and this is my partner Detective Flaskk.” The detective  said gesturing to herself and her partner. “You can call me Hera. This is my cousin Alex, her friend went missing about three days ago and we’re trying to find him.” Hera explained.

 

The two Vixie officers nodded in agreement, “We’ll do everything we can to help you find him.”  Koralla said before turning towards her partner. “Stay here and make sure no one tampers with the crime scene.” Detective Flaskk nodded as she stated his orders.

 

“Follow me.” Detective Koralla said as she led the way.

 

The docks were empty as Detective Koralla led us to the scene of the crime. The air reeked of salt water and fish as we walked, making me gag a little. We arrived at the scene of the crime and I flinched. The body of  what looked like an elderly Deerphinnian was laying on the boardwalk. A fish was laying on the dock nearby, and there a few splatters of blood on the ground. I walked towards the fish as Hera chatted with the detective. I thought I had seen something inside of its mouth, and it reminded me of the note we discovered the other day.

 

“ _ In the mouth of a fish is the key. _ ” Those words rung through my head as I attempted at opening the fish’s mouth with my hooves. Hera noticed this and walked over toward me, Detective Koralla following close behind. “What are you doing?” Hera asked me as she approached.

 

“I’m trying to see inside of this fish’s mouth.” I stated like it was an obvious fact as I went back to opening its jaws. “Umm… Okay then?” Hera asked. The Detective shot me an odd look as I got up and gripped the dead fish by the tail with my teeth. Ignoring the foul taste of dead fish in my mouth, I shook it around in the air. I was hoping to unlodge anything that may be stuck inside to the horror of Hera and Koralla. To my delight and their confusion, a small folded up note fell out of the fish and onto the boardwalk. I spat out the fish and let it fall onto the boardwalk, grateful the foul taste was finally out of my mouth. I grabbed a sugar cube from my bag to get the foul taste out of my mouth as Hera grabbed the note and unfolded it.

 

As she read, Hera's eyes widened.

 

“Ummm…. Guys?” Hera looked over at Alex and the detective. “This is more serious than we thought…”

* * *

 

**_Congratulations on figuring out my little riddle. Unfortunately it only gets harder from here._ **

 

**_This murder isn’t what it appears…_ **

 

**_On the back of this note is a map to a local bank with a safety deposit box. The number is 25. The key is in a small metal box stuck to the underside of the dock._ **

 

**_Enclosed are three suspect profiles, witness information, and docking schedules. There should also be a key to the victim's boat._ **

 

**_You have 24 hours to solve this case before time is up and I get bored. And when I get bored bad things happen to those nearby…_ **

 

**_Better get sleuthing. ;)_ **

 

**_-The Executive_ **

 

I gulped when I read it, knowing well that The Executive was deadly when it came to this kind of stuff. He was the head of a crime ring, so when he threatened, he very well meant it. Hera picked up the the note with her magic and flipped it around revealing a map.

 

“Okay, so first thing the note mentions is a metal box under the dock that has the key. Alexia, why don’t you go under there and grab the box, it’s low tide so you run a low chance of getting wet.” I nodded in understanding before flapping my wings and flying under the dock, in search of the metal box. I located the black, metal box sticking out around rusted metal and decaying wood planks. Grasping the box between my teeth, I pulled it free and flew back up to Hera and Detective Koralla. The detective used her claws to pry open the box, then proceeded to hand the key to Hera. She used her magic to slip it into my saddlebag for safekeeping. Hera then unfolded the note and skimmed it again, paying close attention to the map.

 

“Okay, the bank is on 2nd Street, so it isn’t too far away from here. Detective Koralla, can you lead the way?” The detective nodded her head, “Follow me.” The detective started at a brisk pace, and we followed close behind.

* * *

 

We soon arrived at the bank, the floor was a pristine white marble, the walls light beige. It wasn’t a very large bank, only having a small lobby for waiting in, and a door behind a counter, leading to the vaults. There was another door next to the counter, which was for the employees to enter their work space behind the counter. The detective kept her brisk pace as she walked over the bank clerk, a bored looking female Deerphinnian. She glanced upwards in our direction before sliding the book on the counter away from in front of her. One hoof propping up her head, the other resting on the counter.

 

“What can I do for you today miss?” The bank clerk said in a bored tone, looking upset we had interrupted her reading.

 

“Good morning miss, we would like to open a safety deposit box, we have the key right here.” Detective Koralla stated as Hera levitated the key over to the glass for the clerk to examine.

 

“Hmmm… Okay. What number box will you be opening?” The clerk’s voice still laced with boredom.

 

“25 please.” The detective responded. The clerk nodded her head.

 

“Okay, one second.” The clerk responded before getting up and disappearing through a door behind the counter. I trotted up to Hera and Detective Koralla as the door in the lobby swung open, revealing the clerk. She nodded her head in the direction of in the door and we followed close behind. The door led to a hallway with white tile and white walls, one door on the left side which I assumed led to behind the counter. One door on the right with a sign on the door that said Bank CEO, and a door straight ahead that the clerk trotted towards.

 

“In here.” She said before pushing open the door to a room full of lockers, each numbered 1 through 58.

 

“In here.” The employee pointed her hoof towards the box. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the hall.” And with that she trotted out of the room, leaving us alone with the various boxes. Hera wasted no time in bringing the key up to the slot and opening the box, wanting to get to its contents immediately. The door to the box swung open, revealing a folder overflowing with papers. Hanging from a small nail in the back of the safe was  a small metal key on the top of it with a label that stated “Boat Key”. She lifted the folder with her magic and set it in front of us on a small coffee table. We all gathered around as Hera opened the folder and began sifting through papers. She sorted them into witness information, suspect information, and docking schedules. After Hera finished, she grabbed the stack of suspects. Detective Koralla proceeded to grab the dock schedule, and I had witness information.

 

I scanned the pages, making sure to absorb all the information I could. After we all finished getting all the information from our stack of papers, we passed them to our left and then began reading. I had dock schedule, Hera had witness information, and Detective Koralla got suspect information. I scanned the dock schedule, before passing my papers to the left again. I had the suspect information, Hera had the dock schedule, and Detective Koralla had the witness information. We read through the information, itching to start on the case. After what felt like an eternity of reading, we finally finished reading the information. Hera picked up the papers and the key and slipped them into my saddlebag as I pranced , itching to start investigating right away. Detective Koralla had went to return the safety deposit key and after Hera finished, we entered the lobby where the detective was waiting. The receptionist was back to reading the book we saw her reading earlier, and she glanced up at us as we were leaving, before going back to her book. We began chatting about where we should go first, before I piped in. “Why don’t we interview the witnesses first? We need to go get the autopsy information anyways, and two of them live in Vixivannia. We could kill two birds with one stone this way. Plus no backtracking required.” Hera and the detective nodded their head in agreement. “Great idea Alex.” Hera said as we started trotting towards the taxi station to get a ride into town.

* * *

 

Detective Koralla had gone to pick up the autopsy report from the station and had us go ahead to the first witness.  As we approached the door of the apartment, we could hear faint music coming from the room. It sounded beautiful, like a mixture of piano, flute, and a few other sounds I didn’t recognize. Hera knocked on the door and the music stopped.  followed by shuffling noises and objects knocking over. Other noises were heard, like someone walking into a table followed by a muttering of a curse word. The door cracked open, revealing an annoyed red unicorn. His shaggy brown hair was covered by a black baseball cap that was facing backwards. A wrinkled black and white varsity jacket draped over his shoulders. His eyes had a tint of red around the edges, like he had been up all night working on something. He also smelled of Kombucha, sweat, and energy drinks.

 

“Can I help you?” He asked, then followed by yawning and blinking his eyes a few times.

 

Hera spoke first, “Are you Travis Stebbins? We’d like to speak with him.”

 

Travis tilted his head to the side a bit, then replied, “If you’re trying to sell me something then I’m not interested.”

 

Hera shook her head. “Actually, we’re here because there was a murder yesterday at the docks. We were hoping you would be able to tell us if you saw anything when you were there.”

 

His eyes widened as Hera spoke. “Oh, sorry about that. I get a lot of people trying to sell me stuff around here and it gets annoying. I’ll be more than willing to help answer any questions you may have. Would you like to come in? I’m sorry, I was working on a project and I haven’t had the chance to pick up yet…”

 

Travis opened the door all the way and let us inside, and when he said it was messy, he wasn’t kidding. Bottles of what I was hoping were once filled with Kombucha now littered across the floor. With them were cans of Red Boar as well as other energy drinks long empty. On the nearby coffee table, boxes of leftover take out food were strewn about. But what sat in the middle of the room caught my interest. It looked like a mixture of a grand piano, an organ, and a drum set had fused together. 

This machine caught my interest, and I couldn’t help but stare a bit at it.

 

“What’s that?” I pointed a hoof towards the odd looking machine.

 

“Oh, that’s something a friend of mine helped develop. It doesn’t have a name but I call it the Odyssey. It’s an instrument that can simulate almost any musical instrument, as well as some sounds of its own.” Travis rubbed the Odyssey with his hoof as he spoke. “Isn’t she a beauty?” He asked as I was staring in awe. “Yes it is! I’ve never seen anything like it before!” I exclaimed. “Well, I’d be more than happy to let you try it out if you’d like. It’s a pretty rare instrument, I only know about twenty or thirty people who actually have one.” He responded with a smile, looking like he was happy someone took an interest in his work. “I could get you in touch with my friend and see if he could make you one if you’d like.” He stated, smiling as I got excited. “That would be amazing! Thank you!” I yelled as I had a huge grin plastered on my face.

 

Hera cleared her throat, trying to get our attention away from the instrument.

 

“Umm. I hate to interrupt this interesting conversation, but we need to ask you these questions. We’re on a time limit…”

 

“Oh my gosh I completely forgot about that. I’m so sorry, I’ll try to answer any questions as best as I can.” He grabbed the trash from the coffee table and couch and threw them into the waste bin. He gestured to the couch, inviting us to sit down while he grabbed a chair and set it in front of the coffee table. He sat down as he grabbed a half full bottle of Kombucha and took a swig as we sat down opposite of him. He licked a few escaped drops off of his lips before turning to look in our direction. Hera grabbed a pen and a notepad from my bag.

 

“I’ll tell you everything I know.” He stated.

* * *

 

“So you say you were at the docks yesterday to pick up a part for the Odyssey, and you only saw the victim when he took you to the ship to pick it up. Is that correct?”

 

Hera glanced up from her notepad as she asked.

 

Travis nodded his head, “That would be correct.” He said before taking another sip of Kombucha. “You didn’t see anyone suspicious in the area, did you?” I piped in.

 

“Well, as I was leaving, the guy started talking with another older female Deerphinnian. I think it was his wife. But then out of nowhere they started yelling at each other about money problems. I figured it wasn’t my business to talk about or listen to, so I walked away after that. That’s all I can think of at the moment.”

 

Travis took another swig of Kombucha as Hera scribbled all the information he spoke down.

 

“Anything else you nice ladies need?” Travis asked, glancing around his apartment. “I have people coming tomorrow at 7:30 for a music writing session and I would like to have plenty of time to straighten up. It usually ends at 8:30 and if you all would like to come, you’re more than welcome to join us. It’s only me writing songs while people listen and socialize, and it’s pretty fun.” Travis asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

 

“We’ll see. I dunno if we’ll have time or not.” Hera spoke, interrupting what I was about to say.

 

“Okay, well see you guys there if you show up. Also,” Travis turned around and grabbed a notepad from nearby and jotted something down, then passed it to me. “It’s the address for the guy who built the Odyssey. If you want one, you can mail him with a thousand bits and he’ll build one for you. If you want one that is.” I grabbed the note with my teeth and tucked it into the pocket of my bag as he sat there grinning.

 

“I’ll have to look into it after I finish with this whole debacle.” I responded with a grin.

 

“Great! Hopefully I’ll see you girls tonight. If not, then maybe we can meet up again sometime!” He exclaimed with a large smile on his face, before he started picking up the trash that littered the floor. I waved goodbye as we walked out the door, him waving back before going back to cleaning up the room. Hera closed the door behind us as we left, letting out a sigh of relief when it shut.

 

“Now, who’s next?” I asked.

* * *

 

Detective Koralla was waiting outside of the bakery. A manila envelope tucked under her forearm as we approached, relief flooded over her face as she saw us.

 

The scent of baking bread wafted through the bakery building as we stepped inside, making my mouth water. A lavender Hippogriff was busy attempting to place a lump of dough into a wood fire oven  along the back wall. In front of her sat a wooden counter with a display case filled with all sorts of breads and vividly colored cakes.

 

“I’ll be with you in a minute!” She shouted in our direction before placing the raw dough into the mouth of the oven and slamming the door shut.

 

She turned around and asked with a cheery voice, “What can I get for you guys?”

 

“We’re here to speak with Minoa about something important.” Hera stated.

 

“Well, I’m Minoa. I have to keep an eye on this bread so it doesn’t burn but if you sit down at a table, I’ll be more than willing to talk with you all. I’ll even bring out some fresh bread for your troubles.” She grinned before turning back towards the oven and opening the door, checking to make sure it didn’t burn.

 

We took that as our queue to sit down at a nearby table. Hera began flipping through pages upon pages of notes. Detective Koralla was reading the suspect list again, and I was sketching on a scrap of blank paper I found in my bag.

 

After a few minutes, Minoa returned with a steaming hot loaf of bread on a tray. My mouth watered as she set them on the table.

 

“Here you go! It’s all on the house for making you wait so long. This type of bread is very temperamental when it comes to baking it.” She spoke as I stared at the bread. I blurted out a thank you as I grabbed a slice of the fresh cut bread and dug in. Hera rolled her eyes at my antics while the Detective smiled.

 

Minoa took a seat next to Detective Koralla and stretched her shoulders.

 

“What do you need to know?” Minoa inquired. 

* * *

 

So Minoa never saw anything when she went to pick up some imported baking supplies.” Hera read off her list. We walked along towards a taxi service to take us to Tokoii City, a small town outside of  Vixivannia. “And Travis only saw him and his wife arguing as he was leaving. So that only leaves us with Suki to interview, and then it’s onto suspects.” Hera stated.

 

“But don’t we only have 24 hours total for this case? And if I remember correctly, we’ve already used 4 of those hours on interviewing witnesses alone…” I piped up. “So that leaves 20 hours, not including sleep.” Detective Koralla replied.

 

“Exactly. So I had an idea. We still have suspects to interview, a boat to inspect, one more witness to interview, and to catch the crook in 20 hours. What if we split up? I’ll inspect the boat, Hera can go interview Suki, and Detective Koralla can go start interviewing the suspects. We’ll all meet up back at the fish and hay fries place in Mewnton and share our findings.” I spoke as Hera and Koralla nodded their heads in agreement.

 

“Sounds like a plan.” Hera replied as she grabbed the key out of her bag.

 

“Do not lose this.” She stated as she slipped the long rope with the key attached around my neck. Her making sure the knot was as tight as it would go.

 

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.” I nodded my head as I dashed off towards the taxi station and hopping into a nearby cab.

 

“Mewnton Docks please. And I need to be there as fast as I can.”

 

I told the driver as I handed him the bits. After seeing the incentive of money, he sped off towards the town.

* * *

 

The boat was pretty small compared to the boats docked around it. It was a usual boat with a cabin on top of the hull. I hopped on to the boat and headed towards the door for the cabin.

 

“I could find something here.” I muttered to myself as I attempted to unlock the door with the key around my neck, which was not an easy task with hooves. After struggling with it for about 5 minutes, I finally gave up and used my teeth to put it in and turn the lock. After that far too difficult task, I pushed the door wide open and began to inspect inside of the boat. It was a pretty small entryway, with some sets of once muddy boots on some rags. There was a set of stairs going downwards ending at a door, along with some pictures of the the victim and his wife. I closed the door to the boat and went ahead and began to trot down the stairs. I pushed the door open and it revealed a small kitchen, a small desk against the wall, and a small bed tucked into the corner. I shut the door behind me and began to inspect the desk, where I found a small leather bound journal with black lettering saying,  _ Docking Records _ . I grabbed it with my teeth and placed it into my bag before continuing looking. There were papers scattered all over the desk, all sorts of files and reports. I began to sift through more pages before I spotted a small drawer. I slid the drawer open and spotted another small leather notebook. I flipped through the pages before realizing that it was a diary. I slipped it into my bag and began to rifle around some more before I froze.

 

I could have sworn I heard hoofsteps from above me, but I may have been wrong. I listened again and I heard the door upstairs open. I panicked and flew up into the rafters above the bed and I did my best to hide myself. Luckily, I’m a pretty small pegasus and my saddlebag wasn’t too big either so I was able to fit . The door creaked open as a elderly female Deerphinnian walked inside and made a beeline for the desk, rifling through papers and drawers.

 

“Where is it?! Where did that old nutcase put it?!” She was muttering as I watched. She looked for a little longer before giving up and turning around and heading upstairs.

 

“The Police must’ve gotten it already…” She mumbled in disgust. She left and went upstairs. I heard the door slam open and creak shut before I dared to go out from where I was hiding. I waited a few minutes before I left the boat house and ran back to the meeting spot.

* * *

 

We had gone and deciphered who had done it over some hay fries. It was the wife, the one who had broken into the boat earlier. I was tired, but confident that we were correct as Hera and Detective Koralla were handing over paperwork at the station. We gave the evidence to the detective before walking towards a separate cab to take us to a hotel. Detective Koralla told us to go get some sleep while she and Detective Flaskk took care of the rest. I agreed as I dragged a grumbling Hera towards the nearest cab and had him take us to a hotel.

After a quick nap, Detective Koralla had come and told us that it was the wife. She had killed him for the insurance money and was trying to destroy the diary so she couldn’t be pinned for the crime. I sighed in relief, knowing that the case was finally done and I could finally relax.

At least, until we got the next note that is… 


End file.
